Tesla Model S Buyers in China Get a Free License Plate Worth $15k

If you live in Shanghai, you now have even more incentive to buy a Tesla Model S – the electric sedan now comes with a free license plate. That might not seem like a big deal in the US, but in China license plates are distributed under an auction system that saw plates selling for up to $15,000 last year.

China uses a government-controlled auction system to distribute license plates so that it can regulate the number of cars on the road. Traffic a particularly big concern in Shanghai, which is cursed with congestion and poor air quality. Chinese-made electric cars are exempt from the auction, and the ruling was recently expanded to allow a limited number of foreign electric cars as well.

Tesla plans to begin producing cars in China within the next 3-4 years, which should also help drive down the costs of its Model S electric sedan. The Chinese government will allow 3,000 foreign electric cars per automaker to receive the free license plates.